i was diagnosed with aids in oct my cd4 was 136 and my viral load was high of course just this month december my cd4 was 248 and my viral load is 410 now i was told once my viral load is under 400 it is concidered undectable my question is do i still have AIDS or am i now back to just bn hiv + im confussed please help me to understand whats going on with me and what does all this mean

Response from Dr. Holodniy

Most viral load tests now go down to 40 or 50 copies/mL. So undetectable means a viral load below that number. Many people can have detectable levels of viral load between 50 and 400, so being less than 400, no longer means being undetectable. The definition of AIDS is a CD4 count < 200 or < 14%. You don't indicate whether you are receiving HIV treatment or not. Although your CD4 count is > 200, it would be helpful to know if your CD4% is > 14%. If both numbers are above the benchmark for AIDS then your immune system has improved to a point that you are no longer considered to have AIDS.

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